The Bund Naturschutz in Bayern (BN) tries hard not to always be the grouch. Despite the climate crisis, one must also name the rays of hope. And so the BN looks back on a positive year 2021 for the Bavarian climate hotspot Lower Franconia.
In particular, the signing of the orchard pact was a success for the BN. This provides for the preservation and increase of the Bavarian orchard stocks. By 2035, an additional million trees are to be planted and existing meadow orchards preserved. In Lower Franconia, the orchards are particularly endangered in the district of Aschaffenburg.
The goal must now be to implement the pact adequately, explained the BN state representative Martin Geilhufe: “We are also dependent on the help of farmers, private orchard owners and the municipalities.” In this context, the BN welcomed the establishment of six project offices for the implementation of the orchard pact in Lower Franconia.
As little intervention in nature and as little land use as possible
For the year 2022, the BUND nature conservation was combative: As a “green conscience” he wanted to critically monitor natural interventions. This includes in particular the construction of the B26n by the districts of Main-Spessart and Würzburg. The use of land – and here above all the rampant road construction – is one of the greatest dangers for environmental protection and nature conservation in Bavaria. “In Lower Franconia, 170 hectares of land were used last year, which corresponds to 238 football fields. It must not go on like this, we will not allow large parts of the country to disappear under a concrete cover,” said the BN regional officer for Lower Franconia, Steffen Jodl .
Falling water tables and dried up forests
Overall, the BN in Lower Franconia has been particularly concerned about falling groundwater levels and drying forests in recent years. Jodl finds it particularly problematic that agriculture is increasingly being supplied with water from the Main. “An attempt is made to take water from the Main in order to then irrigate the areas in agriculture, in vegetable growing, in viticulture,” he told BR. It will be a great challenge to reconcile this practice with the existing watercourses and the ecosystem. But the battle for water has long since begun.
Conservationists with a large influx
According to Jodl, the growing number of members in the club is providing a tailwind. “The BN was able to increase the number of members throughout Bavaria by around 7,000 people to a high of around 260,000 members and sponsors,” explained the BN state chairman Richard Mergner. In Lower Franconia there was an increase in membership from around 580 to 25,403 members.
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